3/25/15: Last season, anyone who saw Alex Torres of the San Diego Padres pitch, may have noticed his strange looking cap. It was a padded cap, specifically designed for pitchers. He was the only pitcher in the majors to use it, as most thought it was uncomfortable and affected their performance. There is a new cap out this season, which provides more protection and is less obtrusive to the pitcher. Considering that Rafael Betancourt and Clayton Kershaw both were hit by comebackers last week, do not be surprised if more pitchers follow Torres' lead and take on the protective cap.

3/18/15: The San Diego Padres have to be one of the teams that have the most appeal this season and have the most built-up anticipation to see in action. The moves that new General Manager A.J. Preller made in the offseason created a 'rock star' roster with Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, James Shields and several others. According to reports, the Padres are relaxed at spring training with Kemp holding court. Only a few more weeks to Opening Day and the Padres should be in contention in the NL West throughout the entire season - posing a real threat to the established L.A. Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

3/11/15: San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller may not be finished assimilating his rock star roster. All the big names are off the market. Or at least they were until Major League Baseball announced that Hector Olivera is now a free agent. Olivera is another Cuban defector and is expected to get a contract in the $50-70 million range according to reports. He is 30 years old and has played in the Cuban National Series for the last 10 seasons, registering a .323/.407/.505 slash line with 96 home runs and 433 RBIs. The Padres are reported to be interested in him, because of course they would be.

3/4/15: The San Diego Padres made the biggest splash of all Major League Baseball teams this offseason. Now that spring training has started and we finally get to see all the stars that the Padres have brought together on the same field, expect expectations to be pretty high. Make no mistake, the Padres have gone all-in on 2015, but they are also planning for depth if and when it is needed. The team signed outfielder Tyson Gillies to a minor league deal. Gillies was a top prospect in the Mariners organization before getting traded to the Phillies. He never fit in with the Phillies, had a few injuries along the way, as well as some off-field problems. He has a fresh start now and could be a useful addition later on in the season.

2/25/15: Every so often, one team in a professional sports league becomes the 'it' place to go. It is usually a downtrodden team that somehow gets a superstar, and suddenly rises to top of every free agent's wish list. Right now, that team is the San Diego Padres. Aside from being a great city, new GM A.J. Preller has been able to trade or buy some great players. Need proof? The Padres were able to land ace James Shields even though the rival San Francisco Giants offered more money. The reigning World Series champs offered $80 million over four years but the Padres got him for $5 million less.

2/11/15: The race can pretty much be called now. The San Diego Padres have won the offseason. They put the finishing touches on their starters last weekend by signing pitcher James Shields to a four year deal in the $72 million range, with a club option for a fifth year. Shields was one of the big three starting pitchers on the block this offseason and the last to sign. Padres fans should be excited about the upcoming season with Matt Kemp, Derek Norris, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Will Middlebrook and more on board. The Dodgers may again be the favorites, but the Padres have certainly made a splash.

2/5/15: You just cannot stop new rock star General Manager A.J. Preller. Since taking over the job late last year, Preller has been signing and trading for any good ball player in sight. And he may not be finished yet. Recent reports indicate that the Padres and Milwaukee Brewers have had discussions about sending shortstop Luis Sardinas to Southern California. Sardinas was just traded to Milwaukee two weeks ago and probably has not even been to the city yet. Preller knows Sardinas since they were both in the Texas Rangers organization. If San Diego cannot find a shortstop, then they are expected to platoon Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes.

1/14/15: Someone is going to have to tell the San Diego Padres that they cannot have all the players in the majors. As everyone knows, the Padres have been probably the most active team this offseason and pretty much revamped their lineup by acquiring guys like Justin Upton and Matt Kemp. But it looks like they are not finished yet. New reports indicate that San Diego is still pursuing a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for Cole Hamels. Earlier efforts speculated that they were trying to flip Wil Myers, but apparently he is off the table for now. If nothing else, new General Manager A.J. Preller has already put his stamp on the franchise, and that seems like a good thing so far.

1/7/15: Not to be outdone by the L.A. Dodgers, the San Diego Padres pulled off numerous trades over the past few weeks to completely overhaul their roster. The new additions include Matt Kemp (from Dodgers), Wil Meyers (from Tampa Bay) and Justin Upton (from Atlanta). The next step may be another trade, but for an ace pitcher - possibly Cole Hamels from Philadelphia. If nothing else, there is something interesting to talk about in San Diego, and that could mean more fans in the seats next season, especially if the Padres can put all their new players in the right places to be competitive with the Dodgers and Giants.

11/19/14: The Padres are trying to get into the market of Asian professionals and took a big step forward in that endeavor by winning the rights to exclusively negotiate with star Korean pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim. Kim's Korean team, SK Wyverns, had hoped to get a $10 million posting fee. The Padres were the high bidder at $2 million and SK Wyverns accepted it. This means that San Diego has 30 days to sign him. Kim is 26 and had a 3.33 ERA with a 139 K/walk ratio over 167 /23 innings last season. He is viewed as a bullpen guy, though some think he could be in the rotation as a four or five.

11/5/14: If teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have shown anything, it is that building a sustainable winning team starts with developing a solid farm system. And that begins with scouting the right players. The Dodgers may be known for bringing in high-priced talent, but they did develop several key players such as pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Now the Padres are getting that type of wisdom on their side by hiring the Dodgers' scouting director, Logan White. Under White's watch, the Dodgers drafted Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Russell Martin - not a bad coup for the Padres.

10/8/14: Believe it or not, the San Diego Padres actually finished in third place in the National League West this season. That fact may be easy to ignore, especially considering the Padres won only 77 games and finished 17 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it is still a fact. The Padres do suffer from the big wallets of the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. At the same time, Tampa Bay has consistently put together winning teams in a tough division despite their financial limitations. It may take a couple of years, but the Padres will rise again as they develop their young talent.

10/1/14: It is obvious that the Padres are not on par with the L.A. Dodgers or San Francisco Giants in terms of talent. On a related note, they lag behind those NL West juggernauts in terms of finances (but most other teams do as well). However, they are not as lowly as many would believe. It is true that the team finished the season under .500, but not by much. They also showed that they are well ahead of Arizona and Colorado. It is far too early to crown the division champion for 2015, but the Padres have an interesting team that may be able to make some noise next season.

9/24/14: Is it possible that the Padres are the one team that all contenders in Major League Baseball want to avoid? While San Diego is eliminated from post season play already, they seem to have a knack at hurting other contenders at the wrong (right?) time. Perhaps it is being able to play without pressure. Or, perhaps it is because they can call up prospects that do not know that they are supposed to lose. In any case, the Padres may be the difference between a post season appearance and hitting the links in October for some unfortunate team. Let's just watch this play itself out.

9/17/14: The Padres are in search of quality front office personnel and there was speculation that former GM Kevin Towers could return to San Diego as a special assistant. Towers, of course, was relieved of his GM duties in Arizona a few weeks ago, but that team may want him to return as well. Towers may not be a great GM, but excels at scouting. That talent is probably not going back to the Padres as the team hired David Post as a special assistant for scouting. So Towers may be headed back to the desert. If his trades had not been so bad, then the Diamondbacks probably would not need extra help in scouting.

8/28/14: The Padres do not have much good news to report, and have not for quite a while. It is obvious that they are not a contender to make the playoffs this season, so the team has made some rather substantial trades to help themselves in the future - and there is no shame in that. New closer Joaquin Benoit has been sidelined with shoulder soreness, but it looks like he will avoid the disabled list - at least for now. Benoit got the closing gig when the team traded Huston Street to the Los Angeles Angel last month, and has been pretty impressive with a 1.64 ERA and seven saves.

8/21/14: At this point it probably does not matter much to the Padres (at least not this year), but they were handed some bad news last Friday. It seems that pitching prospect Max Fried needs Tommy John surgery. It has been a tough year for the number 7 overall pick in 2012. He was shut down in spring training with a forearm injury. The injury has limited him to just five minor league starts in 2014. What hurts more is that he may have had a chance for a promotion next season, but will likely miss all of 2015. At least he is only 20 years old and will have time to recover.

8/14/14: The Padres do not have any legitimate shot of making the postseason this year, but they are doing their best to affect the National League playoff picture. They took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals, then gave Pittsburgh everything they could handle. In short, they are not going down as an automatic win for the rest of the Majors. The Cardinals and Pirates, of course, are gunning for NL Central title or wild card spot, and losing to sub-500 teams always has a way of haunting you later on in the season for some reason.

8/7/14: The MLB non-waiver trade deadline came and passed last week. The Padres made their biggest trade a bit prior to the trade deadline by shipping off third baseman Chase Headley to the New York Yankees (which does not bode well for one Alex Rodriguez). But the Padres were not finished. They traded outfielder Chris Denorfia to Seattle for right handed pitcher Stephen Kohlscheen and outfielder Abraham Almonte. While this move may not have registered on the national radar, it could be a good move for the Padress in the future, and can save them money now.

7/31/14: This is close to a reverse Rick Ankiel story, and a pretty good one. Jason Lane was a decent hitter for seven season, but he bottomed out and reinvented himself as a pitcher. Now 37, he finally got his first chance to pitch in the majors. He started for the Padres last week and went six innings, allowed six hits and only one earned run. He recorded two strikeouts and added his own hit. Unfortunately, despite pitching well, the Padres offense did not do him any favors and he drew the loss. Hopefully he will get a couple more chances to start and can get a win or two before the season ends. It is a great story and he deserves a hearty congratulations for getting back to the bigs.

7/24/14: Who needs a General Manager? Maybe not the Padres as they may have fleeced the L.A. Angels in a big time trade last week. The Angels need a closer and have been looking at Street for a while. The Padres need prospects to rebulid the franchise. In exchange for Street (who is among the best closers in the game) and right hander Trevor Gott, the Padres got four players, three of whom are in the Angels' top 10 prospects. The Padres received second baseman Taylor Lindsey, shortstop Jose Rondon, reliever R.J. Alvarez, and righty Elliot Morris. They may not make an impact tomorrow, but what a haul for the Padres.

7/17/14: The good news is that the Padres have clawed their way up to third place in the NL West, but the bad news is that the division has turned into a two team race between the surging L.A. Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Inevitably, GMs around the league will be calling the Padres trying to pry loose some experienced players for the stretch run. Closer Huston Street is a possibility for trade, as the Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly interested in him to fill the same role. It is a trade that would make sense, as the Padres could get some needed prospects back in the deal.

7/10/14: San Diego is surging in the National League West, and no one is taking notice. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Padres were in last place in the division, but thanks to a bit of a hot streak (they have won 7 of their last 10), they have moved into third place with a bit of a cushion over the Diamondbacks and Rockies. It is still an uphill battle for San Diego though. The Dodgers have been red-hot and have moved to first place in the division, nine games better than the Padres. But if the Padres can continue to develop, then they may be a preferred destination for free agents in the offseason.

7/3/14: The Padres continue to fall in the standings, so it only makes sense that they start the process of overhauling the roster. Word on the street (actually from published reports) is that the team is shopping Huston Street and Joaquin Benoit. This looks like the first set of moves following the team firing GM Josh Byrnes a couple of weeks ago, and probably will not be the last. San Diego is yet to name a new GM, but that does not mean they are wasting time in trying to get a competitive product on the field. It also means that Chase Headley's days in San Diego may be numbered, but he should fetch a nice return.

6/26/14: The Padres were not a strong team last season, but did show enough late in the year to make some people think they could be a darkhorse in 2014. Well that was just a bad tease as the Padres are only saved from being last place by the inexplicable Diamondbacks. That means that they will probably be selling off assets at the trade deadline. The two most coveted players would be Chase Headley and Carlos Quintin. Unfortunately, both are injured, and it is tough to show off your wares if they are not playing. Worse yet, many teams may shy away from them if they are limited the rest of the season. On a final note: rest in peace, Tony Gwinn - an outstanding ambassador for baseball, the Padres and the City of San Diego.

6/19/14: The Padres were not expected to be serious contenders this season, but did expect to put a competitive product on the field. They are not contenders, and that is okay, but they are not a terribly competitive team, and that usually means an organizational shake up. Padres executive chairman sent an email that indicated that there may big changes soon in the franchise. That could mean that manager Bud Black will be shown the door soon. The team has the worst offense in the majors, so there may be a change in that area too. Maybe Rays manager John Madden can recommend a medicine man to help.

6/12/14: Could Johnny Manziel be coming to San Diego? Well, not likely. The Padres did in fact select Manziel in the MLB draft, but that really does not mean anything. It looks like more of a publicity stunt as they took him in the 28th round as a shortstop. But getting his rights may not be a bad idea either. If nothing else, they may be able to get Manziel to stop by spring training or something and talk to the team, of just get some more publicity when he stops by. It was the 837th pick in the draft, so there was very little risk.

6/6/14: It is tough to say this, but the Padres seem to just be playing out the string already. The team is 10 games back in the NL West and really does not have the horses to catch LA or San Francisco. To make matters work, outfielder Cameron Maybin left the Saturday afternoon game with a calf injury and missed Sunday's game as well. San Diego is a pretty likeable team and many casual observers would like to see them do well. But there seems to be a lack of commitment from management on the direction of the team. Are they rebuilding or just fielding a roster. Hopefully they will get the direction they need an improve in the future.

5/29/14: With the team struggling and falling further behind in the AL West, the Padres decided to make a move to improve their bullpen. They traded backup catcher Nick Hundley and cast to the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Troy Patton. Patton has not pitched much this year, only appearing in nine games after serving a 25 game suspension for Adderall. He had been pretty reliable for the past three seasons though. Hundly was hitting well for average, but only had 59 plate appearances so far, so losing him is not a big offensive hit. Hopefully it will help the Padres improve on closing out games so they can move up in the standings.

5/22/14: The Padres (finally) seem to be learning how to construct a team to play in spacious Petco Park. They have a serviceable set of starters and one of the best bullpens, if not the best bullpen in the majors. Collectively, the bullpen has the lowest ERA in the league and (not coincidentally) has limited the opposition to the lowest batting average in the league. But the Padres simply struggle to score runs and have scored the fewest in all of MLB. 3-2 wins are great in the playoffs, but the Padres will not get there until they can score four or more per game.

5/15/14: The Padres added a nice notch to their collective belt last week when their struggling offense came alive. Moreover, it was against the Marlins' ace Jose Fernandez, who won the NL Rookie of the Year Award last season. Jedd Gyorko hit two homers off of Fernandez, including a grand slam, as the Padres destroyed the Marlins 10-1 at home last Friday. Gyorko had a career high six RBIs in the game while San Diego set a season high mark with 10 runs in the game. It was a nice rebound for Gyorko, who committed a key error the previous night in the 11th inning right before Giancarlo Stanton hit the winning home run.

5/8/14: This is not meant to be an insult to the Padres or their fans, but seems to be true. The Padres seem to be a team that simply hides from public view for several years, then pops up as a contender once a decade or so. That seems to be the case this season. They are not bad enough to get publicity, and not good enough to compete. One interesting spot that they are on top of is getting pitches called for strikes. A recent stats report indicated that the Padres lead the league in getting balls called for strikes, which is a nice benefit - and is the result of excellent 'framing' by their catchers.

5/1/14: The Padres finally got some good news, at least in the form of a healthy player. The team announced that outfielder Cameron Maybin has been activated off of the disabled list, where he has been all season. Maybin endured a terrible injury in spring training. He dove for a ball and ended up rupturing a tendon in his biceps. He was originally expected to be out three months, but is returning far ahead of schedule. Maybin has not played much at all. He missed all but 14 games last season due to wrist and shoulder injuries, so this is a welcome sight for the Padres.

4/24/14: Starting pitcher Tyson Ross broke through last season with an impressive 2.93 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 9.6 K's per nine innings in 13 starts. So naturally, the Padres expected him to be a big contributor this season. He started terribly, allowing 11 runs in just over 10 innings in his first two starts. His last two have been very strong, including seven good innings against the Detroit Tigers and eight against the San Francisco Giants. He seems to have corrected a mechanics issue, and getting back into form. Should he continue, then all is not lost for the Padres.

4/17/14: It looks like the Padres have seen enough out of second baseman Jedd Gyorko to make a decision about his long term future. The team inked him to a six year deal plus an option year. The deal is for $35 million and the option is for $13 million. Gyorko is just entering his second season in the bigs and does not have an impressive batting line to date. However, it seems that he has done enough to show that he can develop into a quality player over the long haul. Gyorko is only 25 and has only played 140 games or so, so his best baseball is probably yet to come.

4/10/14: At least the Padres have some of the coolest third or alternate uniforms in the game. The yellow one with the black sleeves is pretty slick. Hopefully, that will detract from the play on the field in the first week of the season. It was an ugly first week, as the Padres went 1-4. They rank 27th or worse in the major offensive categories of runs scored, batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. A team can survive a bad offense with great pitching, but the Padres have not pitched well either. The good news is that there are more than 150 games remaining and this could just be an outlier.

4/3/14: The Padres got a jump on the most of the league by drawing the Sunday night game against the Dodgers, who had a jump on the entire league by opening up the season over a week earlier in Australia. Since the Dodgers won both of the Australian games versus the Diamondbacks, that made L.A. the hottest team in the league going into Sunday. And the Padres knocked off the undefeated Dodgers by getting to reliever Brian Wilson for three runs in the eighth inning. They won 3-1 and showed that they are not scared of anyone.

3/27/14: We are getting to the time in spring training where clubs are announcing their opening day starting pitcher. There is some honor in this tradition, as it often symbolizes the faith an organization has in a pitcher, or if nothing else, can establish who is the Number 1 in the eyes of the team. The San Diego Padres have elected to with Andrew Cashner in their opener against the L.A. Dodgers. Cashner was once a top prospect in the Cubs organization, but has dealt with several injures in his career. He posted a 3.04 ERA last season and an impressive 119/41 strikeout to walk ratio.

3/20/14: As always, the Padres rise and fall with third baseman Chase Headley. Headley has been out since straining his calf, but is optimistic that he can make opening day on March 30. He will not rush himself back, but believes a 'worst case scenario' may mean missing a few games to start the regular season. He is not concerned about getting his batting up to speed, and thinks that is more of taking a few extra swings in the cages. Rather, he is concerned about moving on defense and making sure that is working before getting back into regular action. The Padres need him to return, and return to form so they can compete in the NL West this season.

3/13/14: All eyes in San Diego are on Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin. Maybin dove for a ball last week and came up lame. The result is a ruptured biceps tendon - which just sounds incredibly painful. Word now comes that he will not have surgery on the injury. He is going with the rest and rehab routine, which if it works, could have him returning sooner than the original two to three month layoff. Of course, the risk is that if it does not heal itself properly, then he could be out much longer. Maybin, reportedly, opted against the surgery.

3/6/14: The regular season is still almost a month away, so anything can still happen. However, while many people are picking the Padres as their darkhorse team, many others are accepting that such a result just got a lot more difficult. The Padres best defensive center fielder, Cameron Maybin, is expected to miss the next two to three months with a ruptured biceps tendon. Maybin only played 14 games last season as he dealt with wrist and knee injuries. So while the Padres may be accustomed to playing without him, it does not help the fact that they will be playing without him.

2/27/14: The Padres, for the past few years, have had options on what to do with third baseman Chase Headley. Headley is their best position player and many teams would love to have him. The Padres have been reluctant to trade him, but maybe they should rethink that. Headley suffered a calf strain last week which will likely cost him a couple of weeks. It is the second year in a row where he has suffered an injury in spring training. He got a late start to the season in 2013 and only hit .250 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs. At this point, the Padres may be wise to trade off the 29 year old and develop someone who will be able to play well and consistently.

2/20/14: The Padres will get a real boost in their pitching if Cameron Maybin can return to full health and strength. His 2013 season was a train wreck due to a left knee sprain and a right wrist injury. The wrist required a complex surgery, so it is anyone's guess as to how effective he can be in 2014. But, when healthy, he is a quality pitcher. Case in point: in 2011, just three years ago, he was worth an extra four wins (if you believe in sabremetrics and advanced statistics). With pitchers and catchers reporting, it is time to see where he stands.

2/13/14: As far as the Padres go, this season will be the gauge on how they are developing as an organization. Clearly the Dodgers are the odds on favorite to win the division, and every other team in the NL West looks improved over 2013. The Padres are younger and more raw than their counterparts, but may be scrappy enough to turn some heads. It is also a big year for starter Josh Johnson. Once a promising young pitcher, he has had trouble staying healthy in career, and has only reached 100 innings four times. He claims that he is fully healthy now, and that could be a great steal for the Padres.

2/6/14: Maybe the Padres are on to something. It is well known that left handed pitching is at a premium in the major leagues, and that decent lefties tend to fare well. The Padres seem to understand this and look like they are trying to corner the market on left handed pitching. The team signed reliever Tony Sipp to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Sipp was most recently with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and struggled in his time there. However, considering the dearth of left handed pitching in the majors, maybe a change of scenery will do him well.

1/30/14: The Padres will have some youth in spring training this season, and that means there is always the possibility that some young prospect surprises everyone and makes the team. San Diego announced 18 non-roster invites to spring ball, and that group included their top two prospects: catcher Austin Hedges and starting pitcher Matt Wisler. Also invited were shortstop Jace Peterson and starting pitcher Joe Ross, and 2011 first round pick Cory Spangenberg. Maybe these guys are a year or two away from making the majors, but the experience will be good for them and the team.

1/23/14: The Padres jumped onto the bandwagon of teams avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a $6.1 million deal with Ian Kennedy. This was the second time that Kennedy has been eligible for arbitration. He earned just under $4.3 million last season when he posted an ERA approaching 5.00. He also had 163 strikeouts versus 73 walks over 181 innings (split between the D'Backs and Padres). That $6.1 million figure makes the Braves deal for about $3.5 million for Mike Minor look like a bargain. Minor had the same innings, but much better numbers, and is going for about half the price.

1/16/14: Professional sports is always full of surprises. Every year, in every league, there are surprise teams that make the game interesting and remind us 'why we play the games'. In the NL West, it is easy to pencil in the Dodgers as the expected division champs. Arizona is pretty good as well (though they seem to be more concerned with keeping pace with L.A. than developing a long term competitive team). Enter the Padres. They have played the free agent market very shrewdly and have developed a nice crop of players. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that they make a run at the postseason in 2014.

1/9/14: Sunday was a sad day for San Diego Padres as they announced that long time broadcaster and baseball legend Jerry Coleman passed away at the age of 89. Coleman played nine years in the big leagues with the Yankees in the 50's, even winning a World Series and earning an all-star invite. Coleman started broadcasting in 1960, and joined the Padres as their lead radio announcer in the early 70s and held the position ever since. He won the 2005 Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his broadcast work. He will be missed.

1/2/14: It was announced a couple weeks ago that that the Padres reached a deal with relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit, and now the club and player have made it official. Benoit signed a two year deal worth $15.5 million dollars. Of that there is an $8 million dollar vesting option for 2016 if Benoit reaches 55 games finished in 2015. So that could make the deal worth $23.5 million over three years. Benoit emerged as the closer for the Detroit Tigers last year - largely due to necessity from injuries to others - and he performed very well, posting a 2.01 ERA over 67 innings.

12/26/13: The Padres made a commitment to their bullpen this past week by agreeing to a two year, $15 million deal with closer Joaquin Benoit. Benoit (36) served as the primary closer for the Detroit Tigers last season. Benoit had been a middle relief guy for all of his career prior to 2010. He got forced to the closer role by necessity and turned into one of the best in the league. Last season, he posted a 2.01 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP while converting 24 saves. He may not be the long-term answer at the closer role that the Padres need, but he should fit the bill for the next year or two as the Padres rebuild.

12/19/13: The Padres may be in better position than many people expect for 2014. The big signing, of course, was starting pitcher Josh Johnson. Johnson was once one of the better pitchers in the league until two miserable years in Toronto humbled him and knocked down his value. He is set for a rebound year in cavernous Petco Park. They also picked up left-handed hitting outfielder Seth Smiths in a trade with the Oakland A's. So the team actually has some good young talent to make a run at a playoff spot, or at least show that they can compete.

12/12/13: The Josh Johnson signing is an interesting one for the Padres. Johnson was one of the better pitchers in baseball for several years. Then he (like almost anyone else with talent on the Marlins) was shipped off to Toronto. The bottom fell out for the past two seasons while north of the border. That is not good for a career arc and even worse when heading into free agency. The Padres signed him to a one year deal, so there is very little risk for the team. For Johnson, it is a good chance to increase his value for next offseason by taking advantage of the cavernous dimensions of Petco Park.

12/5/13: Jaff Decker, a minor league prospect with the Padres had been rumored to be on the trading block, and there was a lot of speculation that the New York Mets were interested. The Padres found a trading partner with the Pittsburgh Pirates and send Decker and Miles Mikolas for Eastern League Rookie of the Year Alex Dickerson. Decker played decently last year in triple-A ball, but his stock has fallen in recent years. Dickerson, however, is a rising talent - starring in both the Florida State league and double-A for the last two seasons. He has played first base, but the Padres are expected to put him in the outfield.

11/28/13: San Diego took a step at rebuilding their rotation by signing pitcher Josh Johnson to a one year, $8 million deal. Johnson is a former Cy Young candidate who has struggled for the past few years. The Padres are betting on a bounce back year and Johnson looks to parlay this deal into a larger and longer one after the 2014 season. He was one of the best pitchers in MLB from 2009-12 with the Florida/Miami Marlins. He posted an ERA under 3.00 and a 1.15 WHIP in 101 starts. He struggled last season in Toronto, but could be a great signing for the Padres.

11/21/13: The Padres really have one highly coveted asset, and that is third baseman Chase Headley. San Diego did not trade him last season as they could not get a deal they wanted for him, and pulled him off waivers in September, again because they could not find a trade that gave them what they wanted. Since then, it was assumed that San Diego would try to sign Headley to an extension. However, it is being reported that the there is a growing movement within the organization to trade Headley in order to address several areas of need. Considering the gap between the Padres and the top of the Division, this may be the better long-term solution.

11/14/13: Opportunity may be falling into the lap of the San Diego Padres. The Toronto Blue Jays opted not to give starting pitcher Josh Johnson a qualifying offer, making him a free agent. It was not too long ago that Johnson was a stud young pitcher in the Marlins organization and got shipped out to Toronto when Miami decided to gut their team a couple years ago. The Padres certainly could use a top of the rotation guy, especially in their cavernous ballpark. It remains to be seen who else is interested in Johnson, but the Padres certainly should be.

11/7/13: While the Padres did not sniff the playoffs this past season, it should not be forgotten that they finished in third place in the NL West - ahead of both San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies. While no one in the West is on par with the Dodgers in terms of money or talent, the Padres could improve their rotation and add a few bats as well as a corner outfielder. Like several other teams, the Padres may be interested in Bronson Arroyo as a veteran arm. They may also have interest in Tampa Bay's James Loney, if they are willing to open up the wallet a little bit to bring in a bigger free agent name this offseason.

10/31/13: The Padres have not made much noise since the end of the regular season and may not do much in the offseason. There are questions about re-signing Chase Headley and acquiring pitcher Phil Hughes, but those will probably wait until the World Series is over. The biggest rumor surrounding the team is that Brad Ausmus may be a candidate to replace Jim Leyland in Detroit. Ausmus was once a Tigers player and is young enough to relate to the current crop of stars that are looking to make the next step. Leyland stepped down as manager last week but is expected to stay within the organization.

10/24/13: It is anyone's guess as to what the Padres are planning to do this offseason. They did not field a decent team in 2013 and finished at the bottom of the NL West. It did not help that their speed guy, Evereth Cabrerra, was suspended for 50 games for his involvement with the Biogenesis scandal (note to fantasy baseball players - pick up Cabrerra to bolster your steals ranking). Aside from that, Chase Headley is the obvious big name, but that also makes him a bargaining chip for a trade to get several prospects in return.

10/17/13: With Joe Girardi off the market (he signed an extension to stay manager of the New York Yankees), the Cubs are looking elsewhere for a new bench boss. One possibility is Padres' bench coach Rick Renteria. The Cubs are expected to meet with Renteria soon. Renteria played in the majors from 1986 to 1994. He has coached in both the minor and major leagues since, and also managed the 2013 Mexican National Team in the World Baseball Classic. Chicago needs someone to relate to their young talent, and Renteria may be a steal, despite his relative anonymity.

10/10/13: Just up I-5, the Dodgers' fans are enjoying the playoffs and looking for a World Series championship. In San Diego, the Padres are trying to get healthy. For 2014. Star third baseman Chase Headley and pitcher Tyson Ross had surgery this past week and are currently rehabbing. Headley had a procedure on his knee from a torn meniscus that has bothered him since spring training. Ross had surgery on his partially dislocated shoulder dating back to April. Both should be ready for the next season, though there is a chance either could be traded this offseason.

9/26/13: San Diego is simply riding out the season at this point and trying to see what they have for next year. They did get 7.2 scoreless innings out of starter Robbie Erlin last week on their way to a 2-0 win. Of course, that game was against the Dodgers' backups. L.A. gave many of their stars a rest after clinching the division. But that was just temporary. L.A. brought back Clayton Kershaw the following night and blanked the Padres 4-0. A lethargic offense has plagued San Diego all season, so they really need to find some bats for the 2014 campaign.

9/19/13: Forget about the Padres record for a minute and appreciate that this team can find closers. Despite a dismal season, Padres' reliever Huston Street was able to record his 30th save of the year. It came in a 4-3 win over the Braves, where the Padres rallied to win. In their history, the Padres have Trevor Hoffman - the man who set the standard for closers. San Diego brought him back into the family this past week, naming him to a front office post in player development. Mo Rivera will go down as the greatest closer in history, but Hoffman is the man that set the bar.

9/12/13: Not that it really matters at this point, but the Padres have snuck into third place in the NL West. They are still a mile out of a playoff spot, but they are ahead of the San Francisco Giants (defending World Series Champs) and the Colorado Rockies (a sleeper team in 2014). The question still remains what the team will do with Chase Headley. Time will tell if they try to sign him to a long term contract and build around him or if they opt to trade him for prospects and maybe some draft picks. The good news for the Padres is that it only gets better from here.

9/4/13: The San Diego Padres put Chase Headley on waivers with the hope that he would pass through and the team could then trade him. That did not work out as he was claimed, so the Padres pulled him back. Now the team must figure out what to do with Headley - trade him or sign him to a long term deal. The Padres could upgrade their pitching staff by acquiring Phil Hughes, whom the Yankees seem to have no more use for, and that (combined with Headley) would give them a bit of a boost. Evereth Cabrerra will return from suspension next year and he provides a lot of speed. So the Padres are not in as bad of shape as many may believe, but they must take some action in the offseason to compete next year.

8/29/13: The Padres made the move of placing their star third baseman, Chase Headly, on waivers last week. If he passes through waivers, then he could be an interesting trade piece for a playoff team. Boston seems to be the most likely place to go. The Red Sox are in contention for the NL East or a wild card spot and have shown in the past they are willing to make big moves. A change of scenery may be good for Headly as well. He is a very good player stuck on a terrible team. Getting to a contender may be the best thing for his career.

8/22/13: The Padres are getting used to the Cubs' motto of "Wait until next year". This season is now a wash for them, especially since one of their most dynamic players, Evereth Cabrerra, is suspended for 50 games for his role in the Biogenises scandal. Cabrerra led the National League in steals for most of the season, emerging as the biggest base stealing threat the league has seen in years. That fits in well with playing at the cavernous Petco Park. Unfortunately for the Padres, they will have to wait until 2014 before they can fully exploit his speed.

8/15/13: The Padres are already looking toward the future, and recently signed the leading hitter in the Can-Am league to a minor league contract. Bridger Hunt is anticipating his second stint in affiliated ball. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Dodgers in 2006, but never made it past AA ball. The Padres are also rumored to be interested in Yankees' starting pitcher Phil Hughes in the offseason. San Diego could use an upgrade in pitching, and getting out of New York may be exactly what Hughes needs as well in order to reinvigorate his career.

8/8/13: Technically, the Padres are not out of the running in the NL West. Realistically, they need to concern themselves for next year. One of the more haunting items is infielder Evereth Cabrerra. Cabrerra has a great season going and leads the league in steals. However, he is linked to the Biogenisis case and could end up with a lengthy suspension. The Padres did not make any major deals at the trade deadline, so maybe they are hoping to just take their poison now and try to compete in the division next season - which would not be a bad choice.

8/1/13: Where do the Padres go from here? The team has a history of being near the cellar for several years then winning the division every now and then. This is another one of their down seasons. They are tied with the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants for last place in the NL West and are nine games behind the division leading L.A. Dodgers. They do not have the resources of major market teams and are in danger of becoming the Royals-West. Expect the team to make some deals at the trade deadline, including Chase Headly as the team needs to develop a lot of talent from within.

7/25/13: It has been an up and down year for the Padres. They lost 15 of their first 20 games, then went on a big hot streak for the next 30 games and found themselves in the mix in the NL West. Then they lost 11 in a row and fell back to the cellar. The record and winning percentage are not likely to change - not as long as they are still devoid of top notch talent at key positions. But ace pitcher Jake Peavy is coming back soon, and he may easily be the best trading chip in the whole league. There are plenty of contending teams who would like a top of the rotation guy, and he is signed through 2014.

7/18/13: The Padres entered the All-Star Break at 42-54. However, since they are in the NL West, they are not completely out of the competition for the division crown yet. They are in last place in the division, but only 8.5 games out of first. If they were in any other National League division the season would have been long over. In their favor is that Carlos Quentin continues to rake. What they need, though, is for his teammates to follow his lead and start hitting the ball over the next couple of months if they are to have any shot at all.

7/11/13: The Padres have to be happy that shortstop Evereth Cabrerra is finally back in the lineup after being out with injury for the past several weeks. Cabrerra is hitting .300 on the year and leads the league in steals. He has been named a reserve player for the All-Star Game as well. The Pardres are within striking distance of the NL West crown. The entire division is still up for grabs, and no team has made the move to dominate the others. With Cabrerra back in the line up, the Padres may be able to jump start themselves to the crown.

6/27/13: The Padres are not the doormat that everyone thought they would be this year. Almost half way through the season, and the team is not only above .500, but is in third place in the ultra-competitive NL West. More importantly, they are only 3.5 games out of first place. With the National League having some excellent teams, the West is likely to only send the division champ to the playoffs. The other two wild card spots will probably go to the second and third NL Central teams or the second place Central and second place East teams. In any case, the Padres are keeping it interesting so far, and this bodes well for their future.

6/20/13: At least they are better than the Dodgers. Well, that is not a fair statement. The Padres are at 500. While winning half of your games and losing the other half is not a recipe for a championship, it should be taken in perspective. The reality is that the Padres are in 4th place in the NL West. However, they are only 3 games out of first. That means that if they can keep competing, keep overachieving, and maybe get a little bit of luck, then they can make a run for a playoff spot. That would be an amazing feat for a team that was roundly expected to be last in the division this season. And it helps that the Dodgers have been terrible.

6/6/13: The San Diego Padres have spent most of their existence in mediocrity. There have been the occasion bright season. This is not one of those seasons. The Padres are in fourth place in the NL West, but ahead of the hated Dodgers and their $230 million payroll. In truth, they are not too bad off. They are six games out of first - they just have to go through the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies. The team did select Hunter Renfroe with their first round pick in the draft last week. Renfroe is an outfielder from Mississippi State who was previously selected by the Red Sox in 2010.

6/6/13: The good news for the Padres is that they are not the worst team in the league, or even the division. The $230 million Dodgers are bringing up last place in the NL West - and that should be something for Padres fans to smile about. To be reasonable, no one expects San Diego to compete for the division crown this year. It is true that the team is within striking distance - only 5.5 games out. But they will have to go through San Francisco, Arizona, and Colorado to win the division. But by all accounts this is a successful year, and another solid draft could put the Padres in the pennant chase.

5/23/13: Between suspension and injuries the players who are eligible to return to play with the San Diego Padres are Yesmani Grandal, Clayton Richard, Cameron Maybin and Logan Forsythe. The Cardinals' Tyler Lyons made his major league debut against the Padres on Wednesday night. They had a couple of wins between Saturday and Monday but suffered a 10-2 loss on Tuesday. A season high of five bases were stolen by the Padres in Sunday's 13-4 win over Washington. On Monday Carlos Quentin slid into home plate awkwardly and is currently nursing a sore knee. The Padres will be trying to finish their 7 game homestand with a winning record.

10/2/12 ? For the second straight month, San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley was named the National League Player of the Month for September. Headley continued where he left off in August and swung a hot bat the final month of the season. He batted .324 and hit nine homers and drove in a league- leading 30 RBIs. He is the first player to have back-to-back months with 30 -or-more RBIs since Albert Pujols did it in 2006. He is also the first Padres player since Ken Caminiti to win the award twice in a season. The 28-year old Headley finishes the year hitting .286 with 31 home runs and 115 runs-batted- in.

Clayton Richard continued to struggle and the San DIego Padres could not recover as they dropped a 6-0 ball game to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. Richard pitched 6.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on nine hits and zero walks. He also added a strikeout over the course of his 102 pitches en route to his 12th loss of the season. Offensively for San Diego, not much was going on - the team scattered just five hits and were 0-4 with runners in scoring position. Yonder Alonso had the premiere performance, going 2-4 to raise his average to .276 on the year thus far.

Clayton Richard was phenomenal as his complete game shutout led the San Diego Padres to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night at Petco Park. Richard allowed just five hits and two walks over his nine innings, picking up five strikeouts en route to his 9th victory of the season. The outing lowered his ERA to a respectable 3.79 for the 2012 campaign. Offensively, Will Venable and Yonder Alonso each had a run batted in, giving them 31 and 41 RBI's on the season thus far, respectively. While the team managed just six hits on the day against Cubs pitching, they did have two big ones with runners in scoring position to seal them the victory.

While Padres starter Edinson Volquez didn't have his best stuff, he kept his team in the game long enough to earn a victory as San Diego defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 11-5 on Monday. Volquez lasted five innings, surrendering five earned runs on six hits and three walks. He also added five strikeouts en route to his seventh win of the year thus far. Offensively, Carlos Quentin added his 10th home run of the season in the eight off Reds reliever Jose Arredondo, while Edith Cabrera, Will Venable, Alexi Amarista and Yonder Alonso all also drove in runs in the winning effort.

Padres starter Edison Volquez pitched well, but it was not enough to earn a victory as San Diego dropped a close 3-2 ball game to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Volquez pitched seven innings, surrendering just two earned runs on three hits and three walks. He also added eight strikeouts on the day over the course of 109 pitches. Offensively, Volquez also added a run batted in, just one of two on the day for the entire San Diego team. Overall, the team hit a paltry 2-11 with runners in scoring position in support of the pitching staff. Chris Denorfia and Will Venable each added stolen bases on the day as well.

The San Diego Padres dropped the first game of a three game series against the Milwaukee Brewers in an 8-3 loss at Petco Park in San Diego. Starter Joe Weiland went to 0-4 on the season, giving up five earned runs in five innings, including two home runs to Ryan Braun. Weiland did, however, strike out eight batters through his 100 pitch effort. Right fielder Chris Denorfia was 2-3 with a couple of walks for San Diego on the offensive side of the ball. Randy Wolf picked up the victory for the Brewers, moving to 2-2 on the young season.

After a terrible 10 game stretch where the team went 3-7, the San Diego Padres currently sit at the bottom of the National League West with a 5-14 record, already eight games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. With such a poor start, there hasn't been much to get excited about in San Diego other than the solid performance of young third basemen Chase Headley, whose four home runs and 13 RBI's currently lead the team. In addition to home runs and runs batted in, Headley also leading the team in batting average (.309), runs scored (14) and OPS (.975).

The San Diego Padres have not gotten off to the strong start that they had envisioned; instead, a 2-4 record through the first six games have landed them three games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Offensively, the team has looked anemic - of the regular starters, Jason Bartlett leads the team with a paltry .222 batting average, while Chase Headley has the team lead with 5 RBI's. Clayton Richard has paced the pitching staff thus far; in his first start, Richard went 7 strong innings without giving up a run. He also struck out three batters over his 83 pitches. The team looks to rebound against the 4-1 Arizona Diamondbacks in a three game series this weekend.

San Diego Padres Tickets - Team History

San Diego Padres tickets allow fans the opportunity to experience one of Major League Baseball's teams on the rise. The Padres, established in San Diego in 1969, are trying to make their way back to the World Series after two disappointing trips in 1984 and 1998. The Padres play at Petco Park in downtown San Diego. Grab some Padres tickets and enjoy a game this season!

San Diego Padres Tickets - Season Info

The San Diego Padres come into the 2011 season with high expectations carrying over from their 2010 campaign. After finishing second in the division last season and watching their division rivals win the World Series, the Padres need to have consistently good pitching while trying to improve their offensive play. The Padres will rely on a strong pitching rotation of Ace Mat Latos, Aaron Harang and Clayton Richard if they want to challenge San Francisco for the NL West in 2011.

San Diego Padres Tickets - Ticket Information

San Diego Padres tickets ensure that fans see the Padres playing top contenders throughout the entire MLB season. The Padres have their work cut out for them in an always-tough National League West. With matchups with great teams like the San Francisco Giants and non-divisional meetings with the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies throughout the season, the Padres will have plenty of opportunity to for a divisional title in 2011. Buy your tickets now and don't miss the action!

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